Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 08, 2015 12:21 pm Hey! Currently in the process of getting a quote to build our new home and our fixed site costs quote has come in at $24,800. To me this seems quiet expensive so I was thinking maybe it would be worthwhile to opt not to choose fixed site costs but to get a soil and survey report done and find out the costs at tender. I know there is some risk involved doing this but could also save ourselves some money. Just seeing if anyone has chosen not to fix site costs and how it turned out or is fixing site costs the way to go? The block is located in Doreen,Vic and there is about 800mm of fall over the block. The house size is 25squares. Cheers! Re: To Fix site costs or not. 2Jan 09, 2015 8:27 am I am in the same situation. I have decided not to fix site costs (Was quoted 20k) for my block. The block is 550q and apparently has fall of around 1m. We shall see what the outcome is..... They are doing site survey/soil tests in the next week or so! My Build Journey - Mainvue Amalfi 530 in South Eastern Melbourne https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75810&p=1353804&hilit=mainvue+amalfi#p1353804 Re: To Fix site costs or not. 3Jan 09, 2015 10:02 am You are building with Mainvue too if i remember correctly? Will be interesting to see the results of your soil and survey tests, hopefully they will come in cheaper! I do think its probably the better way to go rather than fixing site costs because i know they would have quiet a big allowance to cover themselves in fixed site costs. Re: To Fix site costs or not. 4Jan 09, 2015 7:36 pm We had 3m of slope back to front, cost $14000 on a 500m2 block with H2 soil. If you are in a rock prone area it may be peace of mind to fix site costs. My wife wanted to fix ours until i told her we are on clay and judging by the geology i was 100% sure we wouldn't encounter rock. Breaking rock and carting rock/soil costs big money. Helps to know where you are building as there are pros and cons to fixing site costs Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. George Carlin Re: To Fix site costs or not. 5Jan 10, 2015 6:35 am jonm88 Hey! Currently in the process of getting a quote to build our new home and our fixed site costs quote has come in at $24,800. To me this seems quiet expensive so I was thinking maybe it would be worthwhile to opt not to choose fixed site costs but to get a soil and survey report done and find out the costs at tender. I know there is some risk involved doing this but could also save ourselves some money. Just seeing if anyone has chosen not to fix site costs and how it turned out or is fixing site costs the way to go? The block is located in Doreen,Vic and there is about 800mm of fall over the block. The house size is 25squares. Cheers! Generally the rock isn't that shallow in doreen unless you are on top of one of the hills but with 800mm of fall it doesn't sound like you are. What you can get is fill which will bump up site costs with the footings being strengthened.Do know if there is any significant fill on your block ? You may be able to get hold of the developers subdivision fill plan. Re: To Fix site costs or not. 6Jan 10, 2015 9:20 pm jonm88 You are building with Mainvue too if i remember correctly? Will be interesting to see the results of your soil and survey tests, hopefully they will come in cheaper! I do think its probably the better way to go rather than fixing site costs because i know they would have quiet a big allowance to cover themselves in fixed site costs. Yes, building with Mainvue. I really hope so..... I am at budget without site costs, so hopefully it isn't too bad. My Build Journey - Mainvue Amalfi 530 in South Eastern Melbourne https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75810&p=1353804&hilit=mainvue+amalfi#p1353804 Re: To Fix site costs or not. 7Jan 11, 2015 2:01 pm The majority of Builders will/should have a geo-tech report done prior to submitting you a quote or tender (usually at the client's cost). If you are in a rock prone area, most builders would not even offer "fixed site costs" (FSC) as they run a risk of losing out big $$$. The geo-tech report will give you soil type and at what depth refusal was hit but it does not guarantee much other that there is rock there! There are sonar tests which can be done but these are extremely expensive especially for the domestic market. The other thing to keep in mind is that the builder can charge you over your set provisional sum (PS) amount if the amount allowed for in the contract has been exceeded. Having said that, there is a limit to how much extra they can ask for before it would be classed as negligence. Hopefully it never comes to that. Another thing to be aware of is that most building contracts have a clause (some builders have these removed before signing) which states that the owner MUST be notified within reasonable time if any works warrant a PS to be used and, they must allow the client reasonable time to view the rock on site. I know of several cases where builders have attempted to use provisional sum costs without following due diligence only to have to return the money when challenged. Again, its all about understanding the contract and ensuring its watertight! Re: To Fix site costs or not. 8Jan 12, 2015 2:38 pm insider jonm88 Hey! Currently in the process of getting a quote to build our new home and our fixed site costs quote has come in at $24,800. To me this seems quiet expensive so I was thinking maybe it would be worthwhile to opt not to choose fixed site costs but to get a soil and survey report done and find out the costs at tender. I know there is some risk involved doing this but could also save ourselves some money. Just seeing if anyone has chosen not to fix site costs and how it turned out or is fixing site costs the way to go? The block is located in Doreen,Vic and there is about 800mm of fall over the block. The house size is 25squares. Cheers! Generally the rock isn't that shallow in doreen unless you are on top of one of the hills but with 800mm of fall it doesn't sound like you are. What you can get is fill which will bump up site costs with the footings being strengthened.Do know if there is any significant fill on your block ? You may be able to get hold of the developers subdivision fill plan. I'm pretty confident that there won't be much rock on the block. My mate did the drainage for the house 2 blocks down and he said there was minimal rock when he was doing those . The block does have fill on it so could be contributing to the high site costs. I might try get a hold of the fill plan. Re: To Fix site costs or not. 9Jan 12, 2015 2:44 pm You can get a soil test done yourself for about $350-$450 to double check or wait until the builder does the test.The developers fill plans help but are not reliable as far as extent and compaction goes. Re: To Fix site costs or not. 10Jan 12, 2015 2:45 pm surfprado We had 3m of slope back to front, cost $14000 on a 500m2 block with H2 soil. If you are in a rock prone area it may be peace of mind to fix site costs. My wife wanted to fix ours until i told her we are on clay and judging by the geology i was 100% sure we wouldn't encounter rock. Breaking rock and carting rock/soil costs big money. Helps to know where you are building as there are pros and cons to fixing site costs Who did u build with if u don't mind me asking? Re: To Fix site costs or not. 11Jan 12, 2015 2:52 pm insider You can get a soil test done yourself for about $350-$450 to double check or wait until the builder does the test.The developers fill plans help but are not reliable as far as extent and compaction goes. I think that's what we will do before we decide whether to fix the costs or not, will hopefully give us a better idea of whether we are getting charged to much. Re: To Fix site costs or not. 12Jan 29, 2015 8:29 am Fixing the site costs is definitely the way to go only if You know the bottom line concerning Design,Engineering & Construction cost implications of various competing alternatives. Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: To Fix site costs or not. 13Feb 25, 2015 12:09 pm I would see what the soil test comes in as. If you get anything worse than a H2, I'd look at fixing them. Other things to consider are: is there substantial fall, trees, rocks, a need for retaining walls, etc If you have good soil, I wouldn't recommend fixing them. It often turns out more expensive to fix them as the builder needs to have an allowance included in the fixed price to cover anything unexpected even if nothing appears. If that makes sense... 30/01/15 - Land Settlement 07/04/15 - Contract & colour selections 05/05/15- Council approval 28/05/15 - Site start Build Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76068 Re: To Fix site costs or not. 14Mar 02, 2015 2:08 pm My soil test states I have H1 (Highly reactive Soil) and recommends a 385 Waffle, 3L11TM with SL92 mesh..... Also states no piers required. Can anyone tell me what that exactly means..... My Build Journey - Mainvue Amalfi 530 in South Eastern Melbourne https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75810&p=1353804&hilit=mainvue+amalfi#p1353804 Re: To Fix site costs or not. 15Mar 03, 2015 10:03 am chloea_ My soil test states I have H1 (Highly reactive Soil) and recommends a 385 Waffle, 3L11TM with SL92 mesh..... Also states no piers required. Can anyone tell me what that exactly means..... Hi there, H1 soil is a pretty good result. We got quoted about $5500 for a H1 waffle slab. No piers required is also a good thing - means you're saving a fair bit! 30/01/15 - Land Settlement 07/04/15 - Contract & colour selections 05/05/15- Council approval 28/05/15 - Site start Build Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76068 Re: To Fix site costs or not. 16Mar 03, 2015 12:59 pm I would look into performance of waffle slabs in h class soils and even worse if u have big falls in land, read all the info on this forum and at least be informed of what's needed to maximize your chances of slab stability, knowledge will give u a better result. I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13053 Is anyone building with Mojo and have a recent site cost tender 0 15931 Henley should give you some indication of site costs. Too many variable to give you any reasonable accuracy 1 1845 |